Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Manga/Anime Inuyasha

Darkness is the only word that could be used to describe this one particular night, on which our story begins.

It was a raw and dark January night. The wind, although not very strong, was as cold as a shard of ice. There was no snow; there was nothing to help decorate and soften the awfully frozen landscape. The small waves of seawater crashed onto the reefs off the west coast of Japan as if they were also joining in the never ending war of the feudal era. It was on such a night, that a sad parting was to take place, and a new adventure was to begin.

Near the edge of the tall cliff above the beach below, illuminated under the tiny amount of light afforded by the stars dotted across the black sky, was a tall figure. The long silver hair flowed elegantly in the cold wind, and a large band of fur billowed behind it. Beside the fur stood the shadowy figure of a child, sharp bangs framing her face.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Rin will miss you. Rin wants to be with Sesshomaru-sama forever," The child whispered in a cheerful yet sad voice.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but put his arm around Rin. The truth was that he didn't know what to say. She may have been the only person who he expected himself to miss. He didn't want to leave her either.

"Sesshomaru-sama!"

The cold silence of the night was broken by the loud screeching of we-all-know-who. Jaken staggered up the hill to the seaside where his lord stood, dragging with him a gigantic sackful of provisions. A small boat was anchored at the beach, ready to be boarded.

Jaken was followed by a familiar two-headed dragon and a short, fat raccoon-dog. Everyone except Jaken seemed to feel the sadness exaggerated by the awful climate. This may explain why Jaken got walloped on the head so frequently.

"Sesshomaru-sama, should we leave now?" Jaken asked, running up to Sesshomaru.

Rin turned around to face him. Her eyes were watery, although Jaken couldn't understand why. Then, the little girl suddenly sprang upon the small impish creature and pulled him into her arms.

"Jaken-sama, Rin will miss you too," she said, crying slightly.

"Get off, silly child!" Jaken yelled at Rin.

Sesshomaru shot a deadly glare at Jaken, which did the job of shutting him up. The powerful dog-demon then turned and started walking slowly down the hill towards the docked boat.

"Jaken-sama," Rin said with her usual cheerful voice while drying her tears, "this is for you. Kagome-sama and Inuyasha-sama bought it."

Rin produced a small, thick brown book. It had a leather, handmade cover and a ballpoint pen attached to the pages.

"It's called a diary," Rin explained, "write about your journey while you're on the other side of the sea, and when you come back, we can read it together."

She laid the book in Jaken's hands. For one moment, even Jaken felt that he did not want to part from this sweet little girl.

"Let's go, Jaken," Sesshomaru said with a seemingly emotionless voice. He then stopped, turned around again and said sternly, "Hachiemon, Ah-Un, take care of Rin."

Hachi nodded, approached Rin and took her hand. Rin appreciated the friendly raccoon-dog very much. After a moment, she reluctantly turned and went with Hachi. It had been her 12th birthday present to spend two months with Sesshomaru, and now he was leaving again. But this journey would not be like the ones before. Rin knew very well that Sesshomaru would not be back to visit her in the next week or month.

As the dog-demon walked off into the distance, Rin called out to him, "Sesshomaru-sama! Rin will be waiting right here for your return!"

Sesshomaru heard those words very clearly, but he did not for one moment take them seriously. He knew that he wasn't going to see her again anytime soon. He expected that she would get tired of waiting and go back to Kaede's village within a week.

Sesshomaru was completely absorbed in his own thoughts as he elegantly boarded the boat. Jaken scrambled on after him, clumsily clutching the oar. The little imp annoyed Sesshomaru more than a little bit, as he pulled and pulled at the anchor but couldn't get it out of the water. One flick of the poison whip and that job was done.

As the little boat left the shore and drifted away into the vast blue blanket of water, Rin could clearly be seen on the top of the cliff. She was sitting on Ah-Un, and waving her arm as a last farewell, as the tiny boat got ever smaller and smaller, and disappeared over the horizon.

Jaken's Diary ~~ January 3rd 1502 ~~
I can see the sunrise over the horizon. But nothing else. Water, water, water. We have been drifting on this little boat all night. Sesshomaru-sama told me to stop rowing as soon as we couldn't see land anymore. He has been sitting in the boat and not saying a word since then. When Sesshomaru-sama is silent, I get ever so worried. This book reminds me of Rin. I will miss that girl. Sesshomaru-sama probably will too.

But Sesshomaru-sama is a man of pride. When he has an idea, he will act on it. But his newest idea surprised me, even though I have been following him as his loyal servant for centuries. Sesshomaru-sama found the lands we were familiar with too small to contain his vast curiosity. He may have got the idea from Menomaru, but he decided to seek out adventure and challenge beyond the seas at the west. So here we are, adrift, bound for the mainland.

~~ January 5th ~~
This pen Kagome brought from her land is very strange. It doesn't need any ink to work. Her land has many convenient things. We have been drifting for two days, and we haven't seen as much as a reef. It really does feel like we're in the middle of an abyss. I'm worried. Sesshomaru-sama doesn't say a word. I tried to cheer him up by singing a song for him. I thought the song was pretty good. But he hit me on the head anyway.

~~ January 9th ~~
We saw a few small islands today, but Sesshomaru-sama said not to stop. He said there is nothing of value on these tiny islands in the middle of the sea. Nothing except for seagulls. *sighs*

~~ January 15th ~~
We have been drifting for 12 days now. We are in the middle of the sea and the waves are ever so violent. They jerk the boat here and there, and that is why my handwriting is a mess. The waves want to swallow us! All the food I brought was supposed to last us two weeks, but thanks to my seasickness I have not eaten even one week's supply of food yet. I'm afraid that I will not make it to the mainland to serve Sesshomaru-sama...(writing is followed by a brown patch on the book. Jaken threw up.)

~~ January 18th ~~
It is a wonder that I have not yet passed away to the netherworld from three days of ensuing seasickness.

~~ January 22nd ~~
The wild waves seem to have calmed down a bit. Now I can eat the dried food I brought without always being afraid of throwing up again. The wind has not changed direction for a long time. Nor has Sesshomaru-sama changed the direction that he is staring at. He hasn't said a word for days. He hasn't moved for days. He makes me so worried. He sits and stares into space for ages.

~~ January 26th ~~
It has been more than three weeks since we left home. I wonder if we will find land before my provisions run out. I hope we do. I don't want to die here! I don't want to leave Sesshomaru-sama! The weather is a little bit warmer, although it is still very cold. I have been sleeping the days away. Sesshomaru-sama's fur is a great pillow, it feels so wonderful!

~~ January 28th ~~
It has been exactly 25 days. No land. I wonder if we will get to the mainland or perish here_-_-...Sesshomaru-sama hit my head when he read that. Because...OH MY! LAND! Right there, on the horizon! Finally! It's real! It's land!

Jaken slammed his journal shut, and gazed into the distance. Yes, land it was. A white beach, followed by thick trees in the distance. Finally, after twenty-five days of drifting, they had reached their intended destination.

Sesshomaru stood up from the position he had been sitting in for the past three weeks, and joined Jaken at the front of the boat. There, he looked carefully at the land before him. This time, it was not a small island. Sesshomaru once again had his usual emotionless expression as he stared at the new land which greeted him warmly. The cold wind blew on his thick fur, making it fly magnificently behind his handsome figure.

Master and servant looked ahead, preparing to greet the long adventure that awaited them.